raised in the united arab emirates, ali first picked up a camera in 2015. what started as quiet experimentation turned into a way of noticing — like tracing a thread through the fabric of daily life. it brought him to tokyo, where he studied creative media and developed a visual language shaped by observation and cultural memory.
now based in bahrain, his work continues to explore themes of identity, place, and belonging. his images have appeared in galleries and publications around the world, big and small — always returning to the quiet details that often go unseen, but say the most.
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some major achievements include:
// qatar biennale — tasweer photo festival ’25 (03/2025)
// the new yorker — solo article “a bahraini photographer returns home” (11/2024)
// time magazine — cover shoot, october ’23 issue (10/2023)
// bahrain national museum — “through the lens: artist panel discussion” (05/2023)
// adpp grantee — arab documentary photography program with magnum photos, afac & prince claus fund (09/2022)
// vantage point x — photography exhibition, sharjah art foundation, uae (09/2022)
// “after 2 p.m.” — photo exhibition at l’art pur gallery, riyadh (05/2022)
// cortona on the move — photography festival, al ula (02/2022)
// gq middle east — solo feature (09/2021)
// creative activism award — culture of resistance (09/2021)
// rotterdam art week — “new radical” festival, netherlands (02/2020)
// no borders — photo exhibition, new york (12/2019)
// adidas originals — photography showcase, dubai (11/2018)
// gulf photo plus — “no place like home” exhibition, dubai (09/2018)
// “east of west” — photography exhibition, new mexico (05/2018)
// sand — “from the middle east to the world” exhibition, tokyo (10/2017)
// “east - east” vol. 3 — photography exhibition, dubai (10/2017)
// “life in tokyo: just a dream” — photography exhibition, dubai (04/2017)
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contact:
alijaaf94@gmali.com